How Things Change
by Ettiera
Summary: Our favorite PPGs and RRBs find themselves managing life as high school students just trying to find their places in the world; the boys are good and on somewhat good terms with the girls, our leader girl ever apprehensive and cautious but at peace. Follow them through the happy, sad, and confusion that comes with being a teenager.(The story is much better than my summary, promise)
1. Chapter 1

How Things Change

Chapter 1: The Start

It's said that the world works in mysterious ways, and our world has always displayed this. Enemies becoming allies, small towns turning to cities, girls and boys becoming women and men. All of this and it can be said that from my view the start lies with a simple formula; sugar, spice and everything nice with that accidental slip of Chemical X. They were the beginning of it all, and in an alternate world it was all the same. The Powerpuff Girls started it all, they protected the things they loved and in turn were loved by everyone, we came along and for a while we ruined that. Mischief, destruction and mayhem was The Rowdyruff way and we made sure to deliver; the girls were always our weakness. First we couldn't handle the "cootie" germs, and then came the insults, the last one didn't destroy us but it finally made us (me more so) open our eyes to what was really going on around us. At five years old we were already going through so much and after the custody battle we'd had enough. It was a sort of silent agreement between team leaders that'd we'd do our best to stay out of each other's way, and for a while it worked.

At the age of ten we're all still working to find our own ways through life, how to fit in. There were set territories that we learned to take over to set ground rules between us all; the girls ran the playground and across the way us boys ran the skate park. We could negotiate terms at the terrain separation, we could watch or taunt, so long as we all minded our own, and it was nice in a way. The girls were slowly trying to separate and find their own callings; Buttercup was veering towards sports, Bubbles went for art, and Blossom was all about science and we in turn separated to find our own which lead Boomer towards music, Butch went after mechanics, and I myself found an interest in math.

We began to fall out of uniformed clothes in another act to find ourselves; Blossom liked dresses, Bubbles adored skirts, Buttercup preferred shorts whereas Butch took on casual suits, Boomer preferred loose jackets, and I just wanted clean cuts. We were still immature, but we were learning.

At thirteen things were complicated, we still ran our separate enclaves but there was a more mellow tide between us; girls were crossing over to learn from us and boys crossed over to relax with them. It was the age of hormones that raged us all and Princess was on an all-time rampage trying to prove she was the best choice for anything, but across both Cityville and Townsville no one could deny that the Powerpuff Girls were a literal thing of beauty and brains, add in power and you've got a trio of the most desirable girls in the world. Blossom was already just as smart as any scientist you could find and would only come to surpass even them, and still just as nice and polite as the day she arrived, Bubbles spoke fluently any language to have existed and was still her sweet innocent self, and Buttercup could out rank any gold medalist in sports with a sassy attitude to match.

It just so happened that as we mellowed out and became "model-citizens" with just the right amount of bad boy edge, we ourselves became most desired; we were tough, confident, and smart. Boomer had mastered music beyond just instruments and mixers, he could compose symphonies if he so chose and girls fawned over it, Butch matched Buttercup in every sport on top of his mechanical genius that went from cars to planes, and my quiet demeanor was intriguing on top of the sole fact that my skill in science and mathematics had reached that beyond rocket scientist qualifications. We challenged each other just as much as we learned from each other, before we knew it we were always together, the bad boys and the good girls putting aside the past and embracing each other's talents as a whole.

As an add on in the in-between time we were transitioning from kids to teenagers there was a growth spurt exceptionally different from other kids; the process of head shrinking for proportional features on top of growing fingers and toes was not a fun one. By the end of the three-day process we looked just like anyone else with the exception that we still had powers. We were also thrown into various meet and greets with our various counterparts the Rowdyright Boys and the Powerpunk Girls; the havoc between the two groups was no different than what we went through and eventually they learned to coexist. Barasaia was a surprise though, she was a scientist who had been studying in the space pilots that circled around the earth, and of course because of how gullible the professor was she was able to finesse the secret formula of our creation to make super-powered children of her own to keep her company. When she came down to settle and share her research, that brought along Bill and Bell; they weren't exactly a part of any of the counters we had so far but it seemed they were mere counters of themselves. Bill proved to be very outgoing and he liked attention whereas Bell preferred to be alone and was very quiet.

And so here we are now, juniors in high school, battling emotions, partners, and school itself; not as complex as we thought it would be.


	2. Chapter 2

How Things Change

Chapter 2: Projects

"So what I'm hearing is that you want _**your**_ brothers, whom might I _add_ can't get along for more than five minutes right now, in private tutoring with me as their instructor?" Blossom continued mixing solutions in her beakers while Brick wrote down the possibilities and outcomes.

He handed her a sheet with the equations he wrote, "It's just for finals Bloss, they could really use the help." He took down some more numbers and stopped her from using the wrong beaker that contained an acid, "Butch has never really been in tune with this kinda stuff and Boomer's just having trouble with a few equations."

"Yes, but tutoring them at the _same time_ is gonna be a major headache on top of the fact that we both know our teachers are going to throw another project at us soon." She let the beaker heat and they watched it change color for a bit.

Brick sighed and finished their observation paper, "Look, I'll make it worth your while alright? Whatever you want,"

She smirked, "I want less work but that's not exactly my style,"

He grinned, "Come on Bloss I know there's got to be something I can do for you," he twirled a piece of her hair between his fingers and watched her face warm.

"Brick cut it out," she sighed, "I do need a favor actually," she turned off all the burners and turned to lean against the table while she read their notes.

He leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head, "Shoot,"

She set down the papers and crossed her arms, "I'm gonna need you to tell your _"girlfriend"_ to cool it with the silent threats, she's pulling petty pranks and I don't have time for it,"

Brick snorted, "Bloss she's not my girlfriend, you know I only have eyes for you," he wiggled his eyebrows at her and she rolled her eyes playfully, "But sure I'll see what I can do, I'm not sure why she's so attached to me though,"

"White-knight syndrome is a very common psychosis," he laughed at her bad German accent, "you saved her from Ace and his gang all those years ago and now in her eyes you're this macho stud who'll protect her from anything and everything," she turned on the sink and started rinsing out the product in the beakers.

Brick smirked and watched her work, "It wasn't a big deal, she's always been so scared of everything, it was the _nice_ thing to do."

She smirked and washed off her hands, wiping them on her lab coat, "As for this tutoring your brothers' situation, I want a week of free lunch,"

"If you wanted to go out on a date Bloss you could've just asked," she poked out her tongue and hung up her jacket, "No problem, I'll take care of Bell and make sure I have enough money to feed a circus for the week,"

"Hey! I don't eat that much,"

He snickered, "But I do," she shook her head and waited for him at the door while he gathered their papers, "You want anything on the way home?"

She smirked, "Only if you're paying,"

"Of course, Blossy girl," he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and lead her out of the classroom.

A lot of students stayed behind to get tutoring, do their extracurricular activities or catch up on late work so they passed a good amount of their friends on the way out. As they passed the football field they spotted Butch and Brick cringed; Butch had been hitting on Blossom for as long as they had become friends and when Blossom hit puberty it only got worse. He sprinted over and immediately snatched Blossom from under his arm.

"'Sup Bloss, how you doin'?" he wiggled his eyebrows while his arms entrapped her so she was forced to pay attention to him.

She smiled nicely, "Just finished taking notes on a stardust compound, and I also heard that you need tutoring,"

"Is that right?" he looked to Brick who was leaning against the fence and watching his brother with a death glare, "Well Bloss I'd be more than happy to play hot teacher and

naughty student whenever you'd like,"

"Yeah, in your dreams, I need you to take this seriously Butch, it's finals at the end of the year and I wanna be proud of my boys," she maneuvered out of his grip and hovered in front of him.

He arched a brow at her wording, " _ **Boys**_?"

"Yes Butch, _Boomer_ needs help too, and it's easier if I just help you both at the same time."

He groaned and grabbed her hands, "Come on, Pinky you know we're not getting along right now, don't make me sit in a room with him for who knows how long while I'm trying to focus on your beautiful body,"

" **Butch**!" he rubbed the back of his neck with a shrug, "You don't have a choice in the matter, I want you both to pass and if that means I have to break you both, _you will be there_ ," she yanked his hair and glared down at him.

" _Ouch_ , alright _**jeez**_!" he rubbed his head.

She smirked, "Good,"

He groaned and rubbed his head, "So where are you two headed looking so happy?"

Brick flipped him off and Blossom settled back on her feet, "Brick's paying for food and we made a deal,"

"A deal huh? Brick you trying to pull a fast one on me and steal my girl?"

Before Blossom could answer Brick was at her side, "She's not _your girl_ , and it's none of your business,"

"Ooh, touchy,"

Brick scoffed and took her hand, "Come on Bloss I know you don't wanna be out late,"

"Aw what, no hug?" as they passed he smirked and grabbed her butt.

" **BUTCH**!" she flipped around quickly and froze his hands together, "Watch it," Brick smirked and pulled at her arm to get her walking again.

Brick watched from their table while she placed their order; Blossom _**is**_ beautiful and Butch was the last person he needed hitting on her all the time. Her pear-shaped figure stood out from her sisters', she had hips and ass for days with a killer rack. It would take a miracle for Blossom to ever notice anyone though, she was always so into her work that it made her dense to the ways of flirtation.

She handed him his drink and poked his forehead, "What's up with you?"

"Why do you let him toy with you like that? It's really annoying," he stared down at his hands while he played with the rim of the cup.

She sat across from him and sipped her shake, "We all know Butch is a pain, and like a dog if I keep ignoring him he'll move onto something else for entertainment,"

He smirked a bit, "Oh yeah? And what could possibly distract him from all _**that**_?"

She giggled and swiped at her bangs, "You just gestured to _all_ of me,"

He cocked an eyebrow at her, "And my statement still stands,"

She nodded and pulled up a schedule on her phone, "This, my dear friend, is the list and times of all sports events coming up and can you guess who participates in all of these events?"

Brick took their food from the waiter and grinned in excitement, "This has to be the best piece of info I've had all day, Butch and BC clashing things out for a month non-stop, it's gonna be great," he took a bite of his burger and slid her phone back, "You know Cup's getting really good with that arm,"

Blossom groaned and picked at her chicken wrap, "I mean yeah I'm proud of her, but with the new techno gear the professor is working on its making her edgy,"

"What's it like anyway? You told me he was making it for you guys but not what it does," he took off his hat and let his bangs fall messily against his forehead.

"Well of course the professor is trying to harness the gear as part of our core powers, they all coordinate with our signature colors and there's some new added features he's trying I guess,"

He cocked and eyebrow at her with a smirk, "You guess?"

She grinned and shrugged, "Okay so yeah I know," she bit into her wrap and contemplated a bit, "So all the suits are supposed to allows us to teleport which is kind of useless because we can all fly faster than light itself," Brick snorted and she waved him off, "Buttercup's suit will allow her to materialize objects at will, which is what I'm concerned about, I don't want her getting out of control with it; side note the suit also changes our hair color and the tangency of our power,"

His smirk widened, "So your hair is gonna be pink?"

"And you know I wouldn't mind if it weren't for the fact that it's _**neon**_ pink, I mean I have tried to tell him to fix the tones but he is so stuck on keeping us cute that he refuses to lose the neon bit," she finished her shake and sighed, "Anyway, Bubbles' suit allows her to create and manipulate any and all sound, and mine gives me control over all the elements."

"Wow, you girls will be pretty much unstoppable huh?"

She shrugged, "I hope so, I really don't see why the villains don't just quit already, they're just so bothersome these days."

"Maybe they just wanna see your pretty faces,"

She giggled and threw away her trash, "Yeah right, seeing my fist is more like it," she wiped off her hands and stood next to his chair, "You ready?"

"Yeah, let's get outta here and get you home princess," he snickered and stood up while dodging Blossom's fists.

"Don't call me _Princess_ , Brick, I will fight you,"

"Yeah, yeah,"


	3. Chapter 3

How Things Change

Chapter 3: Party Plans

"Blossom please, please, _please_ can we go?! It's gonna be the biggest party to start off the year and you know we shouldn't miss it," Bubbles was giving her sister the pouty eyes as she desperately for the fourth time tried to convince her to go out for the weekend.

She sighed and wrote down some more notes for her paper, "Bubbles you know that end of the year projects will be going out soon and they're always a hassle."

Bubbles scoffed and crossed her arms, "Blossom you know you always finish within a week and then if we aren't you're on us like white on rice telling _**us**_ to finish. We have a month and a half to do these projects after they're assigned and you can't even take out a weekend to spend with your _**sisters**_!"

" _ **Okay**_ , _okay_ Bubbles," Blossom sighed and held her sister's shoulders, "I will put aside all my work and I will go to this stupid weekend party," Bubbles squealed and clapped her hands, "I don't know why I still fall for those teary eyes."

"Because I'm cute and you love me," she skipped happily into the hall to tell Buttercup their group was complete.

Blossom sighed and picked up her phone to text Brick about the tragedy that was her being pulled away from her calculus notes.

 __TroubleMaker_:_

 _ **You do realize this party is probably gonna be the biggest of the year, right?**_

 _ **And its themed!**_

 _ **End of the year finals can definitely wait.**_

 _~NerdyFlower~:_

 _ **Guess I should've known you'd be in on this =. =**_

 _ **And what makes it being themed so much better?**_

 __TroubleMaker_:_

 _ **B/c there's a science night and it's sponsored and super detailed we get to see actual experiments!**_

 _ **Research before you judge Pinky.**_

 _~NerdyFlower~:_

 _ **Uggggh, fine.**_

 _ **Blossom out.**_

She opened her laptop and pulled up the link Bubbles sent so she could access the website. It wasn't too bad, everything was cleanly laid out with all the events listed and times for sub-events; prizes were displayed alongside the tickets. Blossom checked the list of themes so she could pack for each day accordingly; the first day would be the science theme, " _ **Come dressed to the 9's in your geekiest wear!"**_ , the next day was _Casino_ and the last, dreadfully, was a **Heroes** and _**Villains**_ party, typical. Blossom searched her closet for her most pristine white lab coat and a form fitting yet loose rose pink dress, both items brushed just above her knees; with those she added a clipboard, pens in the coat pocket and her safety goggles. She knew that her typical hero suit would be cliche and she wanted to try to have fun for her sisters so she sent them a text to let them know they would need to take a trip to the mall after school tomorrow; the whole house probably heard Bubbles' squeal at the message. Getting back into her studies she finished her calculus work and a few other assignments before settling in for bed.

The day flew by and as Blossom was packing up the last of her things, two tan hands smacked against her countertop. "So Bloss, baby puff says you're all going to the bash this weekend,"

She arched her eyebrow and slid her bag over her shoulder, "Would it put you off if I said no?"

He smirked and crossed his buff arms over his chest, "No way, not getting rid of me that easy."

She shrugged and headed out of the chemistry room, "Then in that case yes I am going, I figure I should do something fun with my sisters before all the stress hits, they deserve that much from me,"

"Oooh, so what are you wearing for the last two days, we could match and make the whole joint jealous, your body, my body, they wouldn't be able to bear it."

"I think you forgot the part where I said I was going with my sisters, nice try though," they exited the front doors where her sisters waited on a nearby bench.

"You'll give in eventually sweet cheeks," he called after her, "They always do,"

Blossom waved him off and called back, "That'll be the day Boomer dates Buttercup!" the girls laughed and jetted off to the Mall of Cityville.

Bubbles and Buttercup explained how they would borrow some spare lab coats from the professor, Buttercup would wear slacks and a collared button-up underneath and Bubbles a nice striped pencil skirt and blouse. For the casino night, they went into a store called _24Karat_ where all the glitzy, upscale clothes were.

Bubbles immediately spotted the most glittery, shiny aquamarine blue dress in the store; it had a scarily low-cut back with long sleeves in bodycon style that stopped mid-thigh, she paired the dress with matching glittery, silver heels, a long double layered silver necklace, dangly silver earrings and silver bangles on her left wrist.

"Jeez Bubs you tryna take somebody's eye out with all that glitter?" Buttercup smirked and covered her own eyes for effect.

Bubbles giggled and twirled for us in front of the mirrors, "I think it's great, it suits me," her hourglass frame was accentuated nicely in the dress, she looked both cute and alluring.

Blossom grinned and looked over some more stands, "Don't break any hearts sis," the blonde giggled and ran off to change back into her normal clothes.

Buttercup found her outfit next, going with a floor length black dress with a sweetheart neckline, the dress was see through up the entirety of both sides and on the long sleeves, she chose a black choker with a short silver necklace, a chunky onyx ring for her middle finger and black stilettos.

Bubbles clapped as their sister spun slowly, "Ooh la la lady, look at _you_ , I've never seen you more elegant,"

Blossom nodded and took in her classic coke bottle figure, "I couldn't agree more Bubbles, great choice BC,"

"Thanks girls," as she headed back to change Blossom perused just one more rack before finding something fitting.

The front of the floor length scarlet dress was a simple halter with slits on either side from high thigh down, an open oval to display a tasteful amount of cleavage while the back was an intricate pattern of ties laced in the back settling just above her butt with a delicate bow tying it off; she chose a pair of gold hoops with rubies dangling inside, gold wrist cuffs, and gold mary jane heels with a strap across the ankle.

Bubbles cupped her hands to her mouth, her eyes tearing up, "Oh, Blossom, you look _magnifico_ ,"

Blossom blushed and hid beneath her bangs, "Oh come on, you guys looked amazing too,"

Buttercup smirked and patted her sisters shoulder, "While that may be true, I'm not scared to admit when I've been beaten, you look amazing,"

She smiled warmly and hugged them before grinning and pushing them towards the dressing rooms, "Go put on your dresses and let's take pictures before we leave,"

They took over twenty photos and swore the images to secrecy until the night of before purchasing their items. The town provided funds to a savings account for the girls to use on whatever they like but it was only rare occasions like these that they splurged unnecessarily.

The next shop they went into was a year-round costume maker that held both new and intriguing looks to classic older ones; the shopkeeper and a handful of associates in store would make original costumes by request in store and if the order was too big they'd send it to the workshop, it never took weeks to receive anything.

They decided to get custom made costumes so that they would fit the images they wanted better and it was a group decision to be Marvel/DC villainess'. Blossom wanted her Poison Ivy costume to be a realistic looking leaf leotard with a thick leafy skirt that would be open in the front to reveal her pale green see-through tights, on her left thigh would be two vines of "poison ivy" wrapped like a garter and another set would be on her right bicep with leafy gloves that reached halfway to her elbows and sandals with "poison ivy" vines that closed around her ankles would complete the look; they gave her an ivy green headband that fit behind her bangs with rows of "poison ivy" leaves attached to blend in her hair and a simple green-gold necklace with a small medallion for accessories.

Bubbles decided on Harley Quinn with a twist. Her hair would stay blonde in long pigtails and her face would get done up in a harlequin mask, a diamond made up of four small diamonds in red on one side and black on the other along with a spiky black headband in her hair and red glossy lipstick; her alternating black and red crop top was strapless and connected in halter fashion around her neck in three skinny belts, the belts in the back crossing over in a "x" to hold the top in place, her boy shorts also alternated between red and black with the same diamond pattern on her face alternating on her butt cheeks, red and black gloves on alternating hands were covered from the top of her biceps to her wrists in a mixture of belts and spiky cuffs, on her left shoulder was a spiky black shoulder pad and on her right shoulder would be a fake red tattoo of a heart surrounded by diamonds. Her stockings matched the pattern of the outfit and attached to her bottoms with straps, knee pads alternating red and black and on her hips sat a belt stockpiled with fake bombs with smiley faces, on her thighs were garter belts that held realistic toy blades and on the stockings were small knife holders equipped with fake knives. She decided on alternating red and black thigh high heeled leather boots with spikes on the heels to complete the look.

Viper was Buttercup's villainess of choice, choosing to go functional rather than hindering. Her costume would be a dark, forest green sleeveless bodysuit with a triangle cut out for her cleavage and lighter green heeled boots that flowed smoothly with the outfit, two thick black belts crossed over each other and hung low on her hips with gun holsters on the sides of her thighs equipped with realistic .45s, long dark, forest green gloves reached the top of her biceps and the whole ensemble was shiny latex. Happy with their designs they paid and bagged the accessories with the shopkeeper advising they would be able to pick up their costumes before heading out to the hotel where the party would be hosted the next day.

They chatted excitedly in the food court while they ate and headed back home for the night to get some rest.


	4. Chapter 4

How Things Change

{Author's Note: Hi guys, so thankful to those of you reading; I'd love some suggestions for future chapters, just drop them in my PM. Now for the heavy; I am a very descriptive writer so if there are chapters that are extensive it's because I love writing detail and it helps me with other works, eventually I'll learn to move things around or shorten the descriptions but for now this is like my tester story, if you don't like excessive detail I'm sorry, not sorry. Still working on editing things but again to those of you reading you are greatly appreciated and I love you guys. Thank you and enjoy.}

Chapter 4: Science is Cool

"How about since me and Boom are " _failing_ ", we, and by that I mean mostly me, hang around Pinky for the science party thing?" Butch smirked and pulled on a thick leather apron over his white button-up and black slacks.

Brick shrugged on his lab coat over a red button-up, "Because _**you**_ wouldn't actually learn anything," he watched Butch adjust the goggles against his crazy hair to complete his mad scientist look.

"Not my fault the leader girl is so distracting," he smacked some dirt smudges on his cheeks and pulled on a pair of long leather gloves, "not even you can say you don't fantasize about that ass every now and then,"

Brick slapped the back of his head as he made his way to the living room, "Moron..."

Boomer sat on the couch surrounded by their luggage texting away on his phone. He was decked out in a light blue button-up, black slacks with suspenders and a lab coat on top of it all, fake nerd glasses with tape around the bridge on his face. Brick nodded his head to let him know it was time to head out and they gathered their bags before jetting out into the open air.

As they flew closer to the hotel they could see the outside and inside was already jam packed full of people; outside was decked out with holographic projections, flight suit displays and a lot of experiments involving what looked like giant malleable goo that could change forms at will. They made it inside through the crowd and saw giant lava lamps, full immersion VR sets, top grade scientists performing various experiments and A.I. humanoids conversing with everyone. A drone took their bags and escorted them to their room; it was one of the suites on the top floor complete with separate rooms, a kitchen and lounge with a deep-set curved sectional and a plasma screen curved TV. They had a fully stocked bar and fridge with a pool and hot tub out back that connected with the other suites balcony.

After putting their bags in their chosen rooms and freshening up in their separate bathrooms they made their way back out into the hall only to run into their floor companions, the girls.

Bubbles squealed and hugged them all in a giant lump, "Boys! So glad you made it, doesn't everything look _**super**_ amazing?!"

Boomer adjusted his disheveled glasses and stuffed his hands in his pockets, "I'm really excited about that full immersion VR, did you guys get to check out the game options?"

Before Bubbles could respond Buttercup looped her arm around his shoulders, "Oh man are _**you**_ in for a surprise, there's this action sword battle, a haunted house that tests your phobias, a strategy game where its puzzles as far as you can see, and this girly life simulation one Bubbles wants to try,"

"Cool," he nodded and the three of them took off rambling about what games they were gonna try and the experiments they wanted to see.

"Guess that leaves us then Pinky, what are we getting into,"

Blossom adjusted her ponytail and Brick noted the smaller red bow in place of her larger one, "They have some really weird science foods I wanted to check out,"

Butch snorted, "It's no wonder you've got so much junk in the trunk Bloss,"

She narrowed her eyes at him at the same time Brick flicked his nose, "We rushed out before I could get breakfast you menace," she smiled a bit too sweetly and leaned in his face, "if you have something better to do I'm more than happy to let you go,"

He rubbed the back of his neck and gestured to the elevator, "After you,"

She smirked and straightened up, "That's what I thought, come on Brick,"

They all entered the elevator and Blossom pulled out a map before hitting the 3rd floor button where all the food experiments were. There were stalls full of beakers exploding in various colors, solar systems made of Jello, edible glass candy, crazy colorful spaghetti, and edible slime with tons more past that. Blossom grinned and dragged the boys to a stand serving expanded honeycomb; Butch made a face of being grossed out with his eyes bulging out, Blossom laughed and Brick rolled his eyes before dragging them to a new stand with edible water bubbles.

Blossom finished her purple water droplet and spied another stand, "Hey, let's go look at that one,"

"Jeez girl how much can you eat?" Butch chuckled and swallowed his droplets.

She turned her nose up and headed over to look at the giant charred rocks, "What are these, sir?"

The middle-aged man smiled warmly and gestured to each rock, "I have created a new way to enjoy chocolate,"

"Chocolate?!" Butch poked one of the hefty rocks, " **This** is chocolate?"

"Indeed," the man chuckled a bit a gestured to Blossom, "Would you do the honors of choosing one?"

Blossom poked her chin and looked on thoughtfully before picking out a large oval shaped one, "This one please,"

The man nodded and hefted the chocolate rock on to a sheeted table next to the display, he picked up a chef's mallet and a butcher knife before placing the blade against the rock and firmly cracked down into the shell, after a few moments the rock sprung apart and began leaking…chocolate! Blossom's eyes widened in surprise, Butch was flailing out of control while Brick simply smirked. When the man turned the inside to face them they could see glittering (strawberry, they later found out) rock candy inside drenched in chocolate.

Blossom grinned and clasped her hands together, "It's a chocolate geode,"

"Very good, I'll be selling these to the public soon but I had to perfect them first," he grabbed a paper serving plate and some napkins before handing both halves over on top, "This is yours young lady,"

She gasped and took hold of the plate, "Thank you, thank you so much,"

His eyes crinkled up at the corners as he smiled, "It was my pleasure, enjoy the party,"

They walked off and Butch broke the geodes into six chunks per Blossom's request so they could share with their siblings, and not too long after they ran into Buttercup who took her piece in wonder before jeering Butch into a game of holographic robot fights. Brick and Blossom wandered around looking at different experiments and found Boomer and Bubbles not too long after in a projection room that contained headsets that could record your dreams, store them, and project them back at any time for you to see; they took their share and headed to the food floor for themselves. Blossom and Brick eventually saw everything as the day turned to night, and decided to head back to their rooms and hang out on the balcony.

Blossom changed into a light pink halter swim top and high waisted swim bottoms, she let her hair down and made her way out to the back and laid on one of the pool chairs before covering her eyes with big white shades, Brick came out shortly after in black and red striped board shorts hanging slightly low on his hips; he took a deep breath and stretched, at the same time Blossom took that moment to look him over. All the boys were over 6 feet in height (Butch being the tallest at 6'4", Brick 6'3" and Boomer 6'1") and had filled out nicely, you'd have to be blind not to see it. Where Butch was stocky and very muscular like a football wide receiver, Brick was built like that of an Olympic swimmer; instead of bulging muscles like his brother his were softer yet still defined. Boomer has more of a baseball player build even though he never once truly actively did any sports.

Blossom took note of his missing cap and the low, long flowing ponytail draping against his back, he took a quick couple steps back and jumped in the pool that expanded to each end of their combined balcony, effectively creating a large splash which also managed to catch Blossom's legs.

She shrieked and pulled her legs against her body, "Hey!"

He chuckled and threw more water, "Come on! The water won't bite,"

"Yeah but it's cold," she pouted and swiped at her legs.

He cocked a brow, " _You_ …the queen of ice, freaking over a little cold? What happened to the cold not being an issue for you?" she shrugged, "Uh uh, I don't think so," he pulled himself up from the water and Blossom got a little distracted by his glistening chest to notice what he was doing before it was too late, "Up you go!" he carried her princess style as she struggled in his arms.

"Brick no, put me down!" and she dropped straight into the cold water.

He jumped in after her and watched as she kicked to the surface.

"Not cool, Brick," she brushed the wet bangs out of her face and glared at him.

He smirked and slid up close to her, "Yeah I prefer the heat myself,"

She giggled a bit and splashed him which ended up in a huge splashing match between the two until their siblings jumped in, changed into swim gear of their own, and joined the fight. They spent the next hour playing Chicken, Marco Polo and showing off on the diving board before heading in for the night.

"See you ladies tomorrow on the gambling floor," Butch winked at Bubbles and blew kisses at Blossom and BC.

Buttercup scoffed and pretended to catch it, "Hope you're ready to get cleaned out," she ripped the imaginary heart into shreds with a wicked grin before heading to her room.

"Oooh harsh," Bubbles giggled and said goodnight before pouncing on her sister's back for a piggy back ride.

"See you in the morning boys," Blossom waved and shut their sliding door behind her.

The boys settled into the plush couch and flipped through the channels. "Is it wrong to wanna-,"

Brick smacked his face with the controller, "Don't even finish that,"

He groaned and rubbed his mouth, "You don't even know what I was gonna-,"

"Something about Blossom's ass," Boomer was tapping away at his phone once again texting whoever, "You're not that hard to read Butch,"

He scoffed and crossed his arms, "Not my fault that I say what everybody thinks, the girl is borderline killing me with _**all**_ _**that**_."

Boomer set his phone down and raised a brow, "Was that a sentiment to all of her?"

"Yup,"

Brick rolled his eyes and a smirk spread slowly, "Too bad she doesn't like jug headed idiots though, eh Butch?"

"And how would you know?" Butch ran his fingers through his hair and snatched up the remote, settling on an action film.

Brick tapped his right temple, "Counterpart,"

Butch scoffed and turned towards his brother, "So what? You think _**you**_ know what she likes?"

He shrugged, "I can take an _educated_ guess,"

Boomer leaned in interested and Butch propped his head up in his hand, "Try me,"

Brick shrugged and cupped his chin thoughtfully, "Blossom is one of the most beautiful, smart and talented beings on this planet and while it doesn't take a lot to please her she doesn't like routine even if she won't admit it, she'll want someone who can bring her spontaneity every once in a while to get her out of her zone," his eyes fell to the table in front of them to watch the water float full with fish inside, "She's not gonna to care much for looks so long as the personality is right and she'll need lots of words of affirmation because while it may not seem like it Blossom can be majorly insecure, and this doesn't mean anything like body insecurity but more of a mental thing; she needs to know that she's doing a good job, she likes a compliment here and there, and to know how important she is so she knows she's not being an annoyance…"

Boomer's eyes were a bit wide as he sat back and looked toward the TV, "That… is deep man, like an infomercial or somethin'," he snapped his head back with a grin, "Can you do the other girls?"

Brick shrugged and settled back against the couch, "It all spawns from this thing I read about when I took that psych course called **The Five Love Languages** , apparently, everyone has them all but they range in rank in each individual person; there's words of affirmation, physical touch, acts of service, quality time and receiving gifts. So, the shorthand version for each girl is easy to layout. Bubbles is receiving gifts, quality time, words of affirmation, acts of service and physical touch. BC is acts of service, physical touch, words of affirmation, quality time and receiving gifts. Blossom would be words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, physical touch and receiving gifts."

Butch cocked a brow, "And everyone has these? Even dudes?"

Brick stretched and yawned, "Even dudes, I'm going to bed,"

Butch watched his brother leave and then sat back thoughtfully, "How does he do that?"

Boomer shrugged, his focus back on texting, "He's the brains,"

They finished the movie and headed to their separate rooms, passing out for the night with dreams of fun for tomorrow.


	5. Chapter 5

How Things Change

{Author's note: I do not own any people, products, TV shows or music mentioned in this chapter. Thank you and enjoy.}

Chapter 5: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Buttercup groaned at the sound of **Lil Dicky** blasting from her phones alarm. She ducked her head under the pillow for a while before slapping it down next to her and turning it off; dragging herself to the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face she assumed what she heard in the kitchen was Bubbles blending up whatever so she made her way to the kitchen.

"Well good morning Butter-butt,"

Her face scrunched up as she sat at the bar, "Why are you here, ass?"

Butch poured the yellowish concoction into a glass and set it on the counter, "Making fruit smoothies for you girls, is that so wrong?"

"Yes," she snatched the glass as he poured three more glasses.

He shrugged and drunk his, "So where's your sister?"

"Bubbles was supposed to be where you are. So you ate her and took over her brain?" his brow arched in confusion, "Never mind, and don't worry about where my sister is, she doesn't need to be bothered right now,"

"Oh, and why's that?"

Buttercup picked up her glass and sat on the couch, "Meditating,"

"Oooh like hot yoga?" he grinned in a perverted manner and wiggled his brows.

Buttercup looked away from him in disgust, "No,"

Butch snorted and headed out to the balcony, "You're no fun right now Cup, I'll see ya',"

"Whatever," she flipped on the TV and sprawled out on the cushions.

Bubbles was bobbing her head to _**New Americana**_ while she painted her toes with glittery white nail polish. Her phone lit up with a text notification and she set down the paint to answer it.

 ***B00mie*** :

 **Yo, morning Bubs.**

 **WYD?**

 **BuBBleZ** :

 **Morning ^^**

 **Painting my toes**

 **[Image]**

 ***B00mie*** :

 **Ooh nice.**

 **What time are you girls heading down?**

 **BuBBleZ** :

 **Around 6 or 7 XP**

 **Blossom refuses to make a fashionable entrance**

 **OMG she's going to be gorgeous!**

 ***B00mie*** :

 **I'm sure you'll all look stunning.**

 **We'll be looking extremely handsome and classy ourselves.**

 **[Image]**

 **BuBBleZ** :

 **O.O**

 **~v~**

 **OML!**

 **You guys look** _ **amazing**_ ❤

 ***B00mie*** :

 **Thank you, thank you.**

 **Gtg the boys wanna get a work out in.**

 **CYL ^-^**

 **BuBBleZ** :

 **Baiiii ^-^**

Bubbles picked up her nail polish and picked up on the other foot.

Blossom sat on a yoga mat, **Kwabs** playing gently in her ears, palms up on her knees. Lately she'd been having trouble with some very irritating migraines, not the normal take some medicine you'll be fine kind either; no, these migraines filled her head with low vibrating noises that would grow or stay at that level for a little under five minutes once every week. She couldn't remember where they came from or when they started, just that meditating for a few hours every day kept them at bay for a while.

Deep in her subconscious she heard the door open and shut but paid it no mind, she could feel eyes on her which wasn't unusual or unexpected as she hovered up above the mat in the lotus position. Her brow scrunched a bit as she felt someone approach and get in her personal space. She froze the air around her biting cold as a warning; apparently, this person was either really persistent or just plain stupid. She snapped the air around her into a tangent orb below freezing and the person shrieked hopping out of the way. Not too long after, she finished and took a breath stretching out her legs before standing and opening her eyes.

"Welcome back Avatar Blossom," Brick smirked at her from the rowing machine.

She smiled softly and twisted from side to side, "Thanks but I haven't yet made it to the spirit world,"

"You can do that?" Boomer almost tripped on the elliptical.

She chuckled a bit and bent forward to touch her toes, "No, Boomer I cannot, didn't you ever watch **Avatar the Last Airbender**?"

"Oh… yeah," he ruffled his hair and focused back on his exercise.

The brunette Ruff scoffed and flexed his fingers over the bar he was lifting, "How come they get such _warm_ welcomes Pinky?" she arched a brow in confusion.

Brick set down the ropes and stretched his arms out, "You gave him frostbite on three fingers,"

Blossom scoffed and crossed her arms, "You were warned,"

Butch froze under the 500lbs he was benching, "How'd you know?"

"Buttercup texted," she stood straight again before bending back and touching the floor in a bridge.

"Snitch," he continued pumping.

Blossom lifted her feet off the ground and straightened her torso between her arms so she could frown at him, "Don't be childish," she stretched into a full handstand and Butch looked up to take in the view with smirk.

"Yeah, you're right, sorry Bloss,"

Brick glared and floated over his distracted brother before dropping his full body weight on top of the barbell and grinned evilly as it dropped and caused his brother to struggle, "So you girls got something special to wear for tonight?"

She did a horizontal split and leaned to either side, "Well Bubbles thinks we'll all look fantastic so I guess so," she tipped her head up and smiled softly at him.

"Good, we'll be escorting you then," he smirked and crossed his arms.

She arched a brow, "Excuse me?"

"You and your sisters will be escorted by me and my brothers, the people would go crazy," he sat crossed legged and enjoyed the strain of his brother's grunts, "What d'ya say… Blossom?" she almost denied him until she met his eyes. They were smoldering yet soft and she found herself being drawn in, a blush forming on her cheeks.

"Um… I'll ask the girls," she shook her head and cleared her throat before standing up straight, "No promises though," she brushed her bangs out her face in defiance.

She almost got drawn in again when a crooked smile settled on his lips, "Yes ma'am,"

She stammered and pointed trying to get out any words before huffing and walking out in frustration. Brick watched her go before leaning down to look at his brother with an expressionless mask.

"I'm gonna let you in on something that I am now willing to share," he cracked his knuckles, "You see, I've been working on building my relationship with Blossom for a long time now and tonight I'm gonna make my move," he let his arms rest on his legs as he continued, "you **will** find someone else to bother, or _**I**_ will rearrange your face. No more games, Butch." He hopped off the bar unexpectedly and Butch almost dropped the weight in shock as he watched his brother leave, Boomer snickering in the background.

Blossom had discussed the situation with the girls and Bubbles was, of course, excited about having an escort and Buttercup couldn't care either way. So now she stood fully dressed in the bathroom mirror lightly applying a thick line of gold eyeliner to her eyes and a matte red lipstick to her full lips, she added the mascara to her lashes before taking one last look for approval. In the living room, she saw Bubbles fluffing her hair, it was wavy with light curls pulled to one side and her makeup consisted of clear lip gloss, thick black eyeliner and mascara with silver eyeshadow; Blossom had her hair pulled back in an elegant bun with strands of hair lying on either side of her face. They snapped a few pictures before Buttercup joined them, hair in loose curly, waves pulled more to one side; nude lipstick and black eyeliner with mascara painted on her face.

They took a few more pictures before a gentle knock was heard at the door, Blossom opened it and stepped back in shock as the boys entered looking suave and sexy beyond words as they entered in their suits. Butch in a black _**Bespoke**_ suit, black tie with white polka dots and a chain connecting to one of the buttons gave the effect of making him look bad boy suave. Boomer's silver sequined suit with black lining was fun and attractive while Brick on the other hand was something else entirely, his suit was a maroon beauty with a matching vest and a white button-up underneath; as he passed by in the back on his jacket were thick slots where black showed through, and with every step he took the maroon would lighten and darken.

Boomers hair was parted to one side and combed into a wavy swoop toward the back, Butch had tamed his own hair into laying back in a devilishly sexy pompadour, and Brick had forgone his cap to allow his hair to be pulled up into a bun which also allowed them to see he'd gotten an undercut with a sun design. All the boys wore watches to fit their style; Boomer had his diamond studs in both ears, Butch had his left cartilage band and small fitted hoops on both ears and Brick had gold hoops in both his left and right cartilage, two gold studs in his left ear and three in his right. Buttercup blanched at the sight of them and Bubbles was on the verge of shaping her pupils into hearts.

BC shook herself out of her frozen state as Blossom shut the door distractedly, "I'm sorry was this planned or something?!"

Boomer rubbed at the back of his neck when caught a glimpse of her exposed side, "Well yeah, I thought Bloss said you were cool with being escorted?"

"No, no, no, not that, the outfits," she gestured between all of them.

Butch grinned and looked her over, "Nah, but I will say you all look _really_ nice,"

"So do you guys!" Bubbles stepped in before Buttercup could throw a fit, and maybe her fists, "So how does this whole escorting thing work?"

Brick nodded and smoothly began, "I found out this event was kind of a play on back in the day casino settings, hence why I said we'd escort you girls so some weirdo didn't try to bother you three,"

Buttercup smirked and crossed her arms, "We couldn't find a replacement for this weirdo?"

The green Ruff snorted and rolled his eyes, "As if,"

"Anyway, we will be showing you ladies around the floor, most gambling is supposed to be done by the guys but you can still join in if you want and anything that requires payment we handle, sound good?" they all nodded and Brick looked towards Blossom with another crooked smile as he extended his hand to her, "M'lady, shall we?"

Bubbles squealed as Boomer performed a similar gesture, Buttercup rolling her eyes with a smirk before they were all partnered and headed to the 5th floor. The whole room was decked out like a Vegas strip; there was poker, blackjack, roulette, and slot machines as far as the eye could see. Bars and mini restaurants set up far off to the sides of the room and waiters and waitress' bustled about diligently. They headed to the receptionist desk and the boys checked them in before they parted ways.

Blossom could feel eyes on her from every inch of the room as Brick navigated them towards a slot machine, her arm tucked in his. "You wanna give it a shot Bloss?"

She looked at the flashing machine and took a moment to look over the rules, "Sure,"

Brick gave her a five-dollar bill and stood next to her to watch, "Go for it,"

Her dainty hand pulled gently at the latch and the rollers spun smoothly, she watched patiently as they lined up two cherries and a seven. A few coins fell into the bin and Brick

called for a waitress to bring over a bucket.

"That's it?" she looked kind of disappointed at her winnings and Brick chuckled.

"You've got four more tries Blossom," He patted her hand and stooped down to collect the coins, "try again,"

Her second time around was better, she got a nice handful and Brick collected, her next two times though weren't as good and she groaned in frustration.

After he picked up the rest of the coins he set the bucket next to her chair and set his hands on her shoulders, rubbing them gently, "Just relax Boss, it's no big deal, there's plenty more stuff to try. Honestly, for your first go at one of these you're not doing too bad." She looked up at him and he smiled warmly, giving her shoulders a gentle squeeze, "Come on, last one, you got this,"

She set her face nodded confidently, her hand gripped the latch and she waited a moment before firmly dragging it down; it spun much longer than her other turns and as the mechanism slowed the first box was a lemon and the next and as it eased the last one into position it was the final lemon. The machine dinged and blared a loud alarm before spewing coins in the bin below, Blossom screamed in excitement and hugged him tight, he chuckled and watched as the staff around them paused to clap politely. They collected the coins together, getting a few additional buckets for the excessive amount spilling onto the floor before walking arm in arm again. She dragged them over to the roulette table and asked about the rules; Brick would pick the blacks and she the red, they made a pretty good team and cleaned out the whole table. They played a few card games and did a few more slot machines before Brick took her to one of the nearby restaurants for a break, and something to eat.

"So Bloss how do you like the high roller lifestyle?" he cocked a brow at her as they were being seated.

She giggled a bit and took her seat, "As bad as it sounds, I now understand why people do such crazy things for these gambles. It's quite addicting,"

"So the goody, goody does have a bad side, eh?" he smirked and ordered for them.

She arched a brow, "I wouldn't go so far as to say all that, but I am having a good time,"

"Good," he nodded, "I want you to have fun, you need it before all the crazy end of the year stuff goes down,"

She sighed with a nod of her own, "I know, it's been crazy enough as it is, and the girls are as out of it as usual," she took a sip of her water, "Hopefully this little outing will be rewarding enough to keep them focused this time,"

"See, now I'm not so sure you're actually doing this for you," Brick crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat, "Is this all just some elaborate plan you created to get right back to studying?"

She twirled one of the loose hairs, "I mean… not exactly," she bit her lip and looked down at the plate set in front of her, pasta Puttanesca, her favorite Italian food, "I don't know, I'm just so worried about everyone doing okay,"

Brick smiled softly and touched the back of her hand, "Of course you are," she looked up at him and blushed when her eyes met his, "and even still you should enjoy yourself," he entwined his fingers with hers and smiled warmly.

"O-okay… I'll try,"

He sat back and started on his own food, stuffed salmon in a cream sauce, "That's my girl,"

" _Your_ girl?" she paused the forkful headed for her mouth.

He flashed her a dangerous grin, "For the night, are you not?"

She bit her lip and ignored his question with a grunt and shoved the fork in her mouth. Brick chuckled and they continued their meal in a mostly quiet silence. From across the room Blossom watched Bubbles run over to a poker table, clearly enjoying the attention she received as she was showed off by her _escort_ , and Butch and Buttercup were being cheered on over at the roulette table. Brick shook his head and stood holding his hand out to Blossom.

She arched a brow and he nodded to a dance floor behind them, "Instead of thinking about everything so much why don't you come dance with me, you look too beautiful to be sitting around too long, someone might think to come and steal you from me,"

She smirked but slid her smaller hand in his, "Key words, _might_ ,"

He shrugged, "We should only hope no one would be so stupid,"

They smiled at each other and he tugged her along to the floor where he swung her out in a wide arch before twirling her back into his arms. Blossom giggled as she followed through with the movements, she held on tight when they were close so he could dip her and at one point his strong hands were at her hips, lifting and spinning her around. She looked up and saw his eyes still watching her with such conviction, such devotion, she blushed again as she spun away from him and let her back come to rest against his front so they could sway to the slow tempo of the new song.

Brick took a sharp, silent intake of breath as she pressed herself back against him, but held his composure nonetheless. His hands slowly slid up her thighs, over her round hips and settled at her waist; she reacted to every touch he'd placed on her with trust that he wouldn't step out of line, and that was good. He was just that much closer to having her than he initially planned, but the sooner the better. He let his hands come up to rest atop her shoulders before smoothing them down to her hands and pulling them up around his neck, and she let him. His hands crawled back down her arms to her hips and he wrapped around her in a comfortable lock.

"Blossom?" his nose rested against the shell of her ear and he spoke softly.

Her eyes were closed as she relaxed against him and she spoke back just as low, "Yes?"

He ran his nose along the length of her neck, "Am I out of my head for not being able to stop these thoughts of you….and me?"

She parted her lips slightly and turned her head a bit, "Am I out of my mind… if I say no?"

"I don't think I can explain it in any other way than to say… it's complicated," she slowly opened her eyes, long lashes fluttering prettily.

Turning around to face him she tilted her head to the side a bit, "It is complicated," her arms fixed themselves around his neck as she pressed closer, "but I'm not thinking about that right now."

Her eyes slowly slid closed as she leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. There was no resistance on his part as his arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her up off her toes so he could kiss her more fully. After all the fighting, the playground wars and middle school drama it settled in on both of them that there was no need for any of it; they'd become friends, co-existed without each set of siblings damaging the other and building off of one another. Then the feelings came; Blossom might be dismissive toward everyone else, but not him, the red Rowdyruff boy whom was made to destroy her was now a wall that held her up when she couldn't and he was as sturdy as the name given to him.

Brick in turn never denied how he felt, pinning up all those emotions might have him twitching like Butch. He was smart enough to know after getting to know the girls that as children they would always repel each other because that's what their being created did; it made opposites, but after two deaths the bond was changing and it drew him to her like it would draw his brothers to her sisters. He knew there would never be anyone more perfect for him than her, and this wasn't just some means to an end. No, he'd tried it with Berserk, the girl was wild and out of control like he was but that's not what he wanted; Princess was no better because while she was bad it only came from her spoiled upbringing The girls that followed were the same until one day he actually tuned in and took a good look at himself before deciding. He tried the good ones. While this provided a different outlook, and was closer to what he wanted, it wasn't enough. Then miss perfect herself in all her new post-puberty form sauntered by in class one day; she flashed him a smile that could've put the sun to shame as she explained a new project to him, and at that moment he knew exactly what he wanted.

She was starting to float from all the elation but he kept her grounded. As she came down and pulled away she looked a bit dazed.

"You didn't stop me," it was just above a whisper but he would always hear her.

"Why would I?" his eyes were hooded as he continued to hold her close.

"Because I'm good… and you're bad," she bit her lip and looked down at their chests pressed together.

He lifted her chin and stared into her eyes, "We were children, we're not that anymore," he caressed and cupped her cheek, "I want more for us…I want to be more for you,"

Her eyes gathered a few tears, "What if I'm not really sure?"

"I don't care," he brushed away the few strays, "all I ask is that you try,"

Her lip trembled into a small smile and she turned her face to the palm of his hand, "This is crazy,"

He wrapped her up in tight hug and kissed the crown of her head. He caught Butch's eye and he could almost taste the resentment oozing off him. He snatched BC's hand and dragged her to another game.

Blossom pulled away and looked up into his eyes. "I guess I never thought we'd end up here," she smiled softly and rubbed her arm.

He gave a crooked grin of his own and rubbed her shoulders, "Oooh how things change Blossy girl,"

"You can say that again," she grabbed his hand and held it for a while, "Can we go for a walk? I want to think for a moment before I decide anything."

He gestured for her to walk ahead of him, "Anything you want,"


	6. Chapter 6

How Things Change

Chapter 6: Decisions

Blossom clasped her hands behind her as they walked on a trail through a nearby park; the sky was clear, and the warm weather blew a gentle breeze through the dangling tendrils of her hair. She was lost in thought as her counterpart matched her pace lost in his own little world of sorts, she figured she should say something to lighten the silence between them. A quick once over of his profile and his ears caught her attention.

"So, when'd you get those?" he startled out of his thoughts and watched as she gestured at his piercings.

"That's what you wanna talk about?" He arched a brow and smiled a bit at the odd question,

"Well, the lobes I let Butch do when we were about 14, and then the others I had professionally done at some spot in Cityville sometime later," he played with one higher up on his ear, "Do you have any?"

She blushed and shook her head, "I never really thought about it besides my ears, Bubbles has some though." He nodded and let her continue on, "She got her belly button done when we were 14 and she tried so hard to hide it from the Professor," her laugh made him smile as she relaxed, "but Bubbles was never all that great at keeping secrets. About a week later, a new goal for her, she told him about it and he wasn't even upset he just gave her the talk about making sure to clean it properly and to take good care of it."

"That doesn't surprise me, I mean the Professor is pretty protective, but I figure he knows you girls can take care of yourselves,"

"Yeah…," her voice trailed off and she looked out at the pond they were passing by, "Brick…can I be honest with you?"

He nodded and watched her profile, "Of course,"

"I am absolutely, without a doubt, terrified about…all of this." Her hand came up to fidget with the tendril on the right, "My feelings for you are all over the place and I just don't know what to do, I've never felt so out of control and uncertain about anything," she looked up at him and he could see it, the fear and uncertainty, "where do we go from here?"

He grabbed her hand and pulled her to a standstill, "Blossom, I'm not going to pressure you into anything you don't want. Yes, I am still a Rowdyruff, but I have sense and I have control." He gave her hand a firm squeeze, "I want this Bloss, and we can take it as slow as you need but I'll be damned if I don't ask that you at least try to give us a chance," her eyes looked down between them and she bit her lip, he cupped her chin between his thumb and index finger so she would look at him, "I may not show it but this is scary for me too, I don't know what the future holds if we do this but, I want to try." He flashed her a crooked smile as he watched the fear wash away replaced with a glimmer of hope.

She reached up to take his hand and intertwine their fingers, "I'll try,"

He grinned and kissed the back of her hand, "Thank you," she blushed as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "Now let's get you back before your sisters start to suspect I kidnapped you,"

She chuckled and held his hand as they took to the air, "As if I'd let _you_ kidnap _me_ ,"

"Oooh, is that a challenge Utonium?" he raised a brow at his date.

She smirked with a nonchalant shrug, "Maybe,"

He chuckled and they continued their banter long after making it back to the hotel.

Boomer couldn't get enough of the expressions on everyone's faces as he escorted Bubbles around; it was like being Brad and Angelina in their prime. She made for great conversation the whole night and just watching her light up at every little thing made his heart soar, she was adorable. Bubbles was a very attentive date he also noted, making sure he was good even though it was he who was supposed to be worrying over her. They had fun and Bubbles frequently let him know so, but his little ball of energy eventually wound down and pulled them to sit at a lounge away from all the excitement. Boomer ordered drinks for them and Bubbles relaxed into the seat leaning against him for support.

"Boomer you make an excellent escort, I know I keep saying it but I am having an amazing time with you." She looked up and granted him a megawatt grin.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "And for the millionth time, it's no problem because I too am having an awesome time,"

"I just don't know why we don't do group outings more often," she giggled and thanked the waiter for her mocktail.

Before Boomer could respond the waiter, with his full attention on Bubbles sloppily set his drink down, ignoring the Rowdyruff, "Is there anything else I can get you miss?"

"Oh no, we're fine," she smiled politely and took a sip of her drink.

Even after being dismissed he lingered and Boomer was starting to get annoyed, "Well if there's _anything_ else you might need let me know," he winked and slid a piece of paper towards her.

Boomer was livid, did he not clearly see who she was with? "Um, thanks but I'm very well taken care of," she shoved the paper back in his hands and gave him a look of distaste, "And I'd appreciate you respecting that, it's not wise to rile a Rowdyruff Boy after all," she leaned further into Boomer's side running her hand soothingly across his chest.

Boomer calmed instantly and gave the waiter one of his maniac smirks as he finally glanced over at the Puff's sapphire counterpart, "Oh, I do apologize, so sorry!" Boomer ran his hand along Bubbles bare arm as the waiter's unease grew while he tried to correct his mistake, "Again if I can help in anyway-,"

"You can help by leaving," Boomer's voice took on a lower tone that sent chills down Bubbles' spine as the waiter scurried off.

"You okay Boomie?" she sat up a bit to gauge his emotions.

He smiled at her and took a sip of his own drink, "I'm good, thanks for calming me though because he was just one moment closer to losing his hearing for life,"

She giggled and nudged him, "Boomer, don't kid like that I'm sure he's learned his lesson,"

"Mm, I'm not so sure, what if he still thinks he has a chance?" he leaned in close so their noses were touching, "What if he tries to steal you away later?"

Her brow rose at that, "You think he'd really try something so stupid?" she watched his ocean blue orbs slide to the bar and she followed his gaze to the waiter still throwing glances back at their table, "Hm, maybe he is that stupid,"

He gripped her chin pulling her focus back on him, "Kiss me,"

Her eyes widened a bit, "B-Boomer?" he wasn't asking and it was that same low tone that sent shivers down her spine that made her uncertain if he was serious or not.

His mouth hovered over hers and a wash of spearmint with a hint of something else washed over her in an enticing way as he spoke again, "Kiss me,"

She didn't care who was watching and wouldn't have to begin with, this was everything she wanted and had been waiting for. She and Boomer had been best friends since the end of the rivalry, Bubbles had always cared for and wanted him, but she refused to be the one to initiate anything when she had already started it in the first place with that kiss when they were five. No, he needed to take initiative here, and as he uttered those words a second time she knew she had him right where she wanted him.

Her hands curled sensually over his shoulder to wrap around his neck, "You first,"

He smirked and allowed his free hand to settle over her hip, "Why?"

Her lashes lowered tauntingly as she played with the hairs at the nape of his neck, "Because I always start it,"

He grinned, "Very true," his hands caressed her waist as she waited for him to do his part,

"You sure?"

"Are you?"

He didn't offer her any words as he closed the gap. They lost themselves to each other, neither really fighting for dominance, just easing into a slow dance old as time. He was gentle with her, matching her pace slow and tantalizing, while she in return gave back just as good, biting and pulling. She was the one to stop them, that smile never leaving as she just watched him watch her. There were no words needed, they were together and that was that, and as he nuzzled her nose he shot the waiter one last look of warning finally steering him away.

"Why did you wait so long?" Bubbles rested her head on his shoulder in content.

He rose a brow, "What do you mean?"

"Well I was sure you knew how I felt all this time, I just didn't want to be the one to start after all the opportunities I gave you,"

His eyes widened and he looked down at her in shock, " _ **That**_ long?"

She nodded, "Mmhm, I was hoping you'd figure it out sooner but this is actually more perfect than I could ever ask for,"

His brows furrowed as he rubbed her shoulder, "I'm sorry Bubbles, I guess I'm more naïve than I thought,"

"Don't worry about it Boomie, I'm just glad it's happening now,"

He kissed the top of her head and held her close, "I'm gonna make up for all of it, I promise,"

She smiled up at him, "That's a lot of years to make up for Boomer,"

"I know," he smirked, "but you're worth it,"

She giggled and shook her head, "Oh Boomie,"

They relaxed in the lounge and were found a while later by their red paired siblings. The two reds weren't too surprised by the union of the blues, Blossom simply shrugging and calling Boomer out for being so slow while Brick agreed with her sentiments starting a playful argument between the brothers as Boomer called Brick out on his crush on the pink Puff who blushed at his side while the red Ruff simply laughed and told his baby brother to mind his business. The green siblings threw themselves in the lounge shortly after boasting about their gambling prowess for the night.

"So, tomorrow's the last night guys," Brick sunk comfortably in his seat and nodded to his brothers, "Our costumes are so killer,"

Bubbles rolled her eyes and smirked, "Um, no way I think our costumes will definitely kill yours,"

Boomer laughed and rose a brow, "Bubs I gotta side with my boys on this one there's no way you girls could beat us tomorrow,"

Butch nodded and took a swig of his drink, "True that, we had that fancy costume shop do ours so we **know** we're winning,"

"Ha!" Buttercup crossed her arms, "Boys I don't think you understand how the world of costumes work, gender equality is one of the strongest factors in costume design and for females you can either be spooky as shit or fuckably sexy, there is no in between,"

Blossom and Bubbles nodded in agreement to their brunette sister, "And we got our costumes done at the same place so good luck outdoing us," Blossom tucked a tendril behind her ear as she grinned victoriously.

"Guess we'll find out tomorrow them won't we Pinky?" Butch smirked dangerously as he leaned into the table.

"We shall," she stared coolly not budging at him trying to get a rise from her.

Bubbles giggled with excitement, "Oooh, I can't wait!"

"I say we all get some rest so we're fresh for tomorrow and then we'll see who beats who," Brick grinned at the thought of what the girls could've possibly done to try and upstage them.

Buttercup chuckled as she rose from the table, her sisters following after, "See you losers tomorrow,"

"Whatever Cupcake, you girls are going down," Butch smirked as he and his brothers followed them to the elevator.

They playfully bantered the whole way up and were to the point of laughing uncontrollably with tears in their eyes by the time they went to separate; they said goodnight and got ready for bed, the boys prepared to amaze and the girls ready to drop some mouths.


	7. Chapter 7

How Things Change

Chapter 7: Costume Mayhem

The morning started out nicely; Buttercup made breakfast for the six them and they relaxed in the pool until around 10. Blossom carted Brick and Butch to the gym while Buttercup decided to look around the event from a flight's perspective, Boomer and Bubbles remained back in the room splashing around in the pool. A few hours later everybody regrouped with the boys heading off to their room to change while the girls did the same.

Blossom ruffled her freshly curled hair to give it a wilder look before tossing the whole of it behind her, "Bubbles do you have any clues as to what they've plotted for today?"

"Why me?" the blonde had just finished the makeup on her face and turn to raise a brow at her sister.

Blossom shrugged and applied a bit of gloss to her lips, "Well I doubt BC got anything out of Butch while they were conquering the roulette table," Blossom caught the smirk from Buttercup and winked back at her.

Bubbles shook her head, swinging her long ponytails fluidly before responding in a Bronx accent, "Nah, Boomie wouldn't give up the goods," she shrugged with a grin at their laughter.

"Alright so I guess we'll just have to hope they didn't decide to go dressed as strippers or something," she moved to help Buttercup with her makeup.

The brunette snorted at that, "What villains are there that even dress like that?"

Bubbles giggled, "True, but it would be funny to see what Butch tries to pull, you girls know he has no shame," they all hummed in agreement.

Buttercup smirked and double-checked Blossom's work, "I swear to you guys were gonna crush it, like we look awesome,"

They finished each other's makeup, did a final hair check and Bubbles fussed over everyone's costumes for an additional 30 minutes before they decided to head out. They didn't spot the boys in the hall or on the way to the elevator and shrugged coming to the decision that they would either see them there or they were running late. Bubbles was texting on the phone as they walked out on to the floor while Buttercup and Blossom looked around; the event was set up in a mixture of city and space themes. The girls walked around reading about some of the heroes and villain postings by the entrance and after a while they grew bored waiting for the boys and made their way into the throng of people, they were instantly bombarded by fans and look-a-likes who wanted to take pictures. A lot of the native Cityvillians dressed up as the girls and the villains from Townsville while people who'd flown in from out of state dressed as some of the bigger named heroes. The girls eventually followed a group of people to the dancefloor.

Blossom was in the middle of dancing with a guy dressed as Batman, his advances were ironic, and Blossom laughed at their banter. She moved in before the guy spun her and she was startled as she was pulled in another direction, she snatched her hand away and frowned about to tell who ever it was off.

After fixing her tousled hair she turned and set her hands on her hips firmly, "I don't remember being asked to switch, and I'm not a toy to drag around asshole," she gave the guy a once over, his original Daredevil costume was pretty impressive, but she definitely didn't appreciate being pulled around.

When he only smirked down at her she narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over chest. A song started up with a nice baseline and Daredevil started to circle her slowly, she scoffed and followed him with her eyes. After a full go around he stopped in front of her and held his hand out to her. She glanced down at his hand and back to his mask covered face, with a sigh she let go of her tension and decided to dance with him. They didn't speak the whole time, but she had fun anyway.

A few songs later and Blossom was back in high spirits, they settled into a pattern where they could sway and catch their breath, "So _mystery man_ , you wanna tell me who's under that mask?" he shrugged with a grin, "Oh come on, not even a hint?" he sighed with a smile and beckoned to her with a finger, she settled her hands on his shoulders and leaned up to whisper, "What's the secret,"

She heard a soft, low chuckle before he turned to her ear, "It's more of a don't tell Robin so she can continue to guess,"

Blossom gasped and pulled back, in a yell-whisper she smacked his arm, "Michael Believe I cannot believe you!" they shared a laugh and she pulled him to the edge of the dancefloor, "Was this planned or are you just torturing my friend?"

He grinned, "Robin said she could find me anywhere no matter what, so it was her bet,"

Blossom nodded and looked around the room, "I wish she would've told us you guys were coming, we would've set up for you guys to room with us or something,"

"It was like a last-minute thing, and she only really wanted to see how many PPG impersonators she could find," he rubbed the back of his neck and leaned on his bo staff.

"Have you spotted her yet?"

He laughed and pointed to a girl dressed as Elektra talking to a Blue Beetle, "She's been looking for me all wrong,"

Blossom giggled and watched her friend snatch a green lantern, "Yeah, I'm actually looking for someone myself," he raised a brow in a "do tell" manner, "Me and the girls have a bet for the contest with the boys,"

She couldn't see the top half of his face, but she felt his brows raise, "The RowdyRuff Boys?!"

"Yeah, Mike you know we've been chill with them for a while now right?"

He snorted, "You and _chill_ have serious conflicts though," she laughed and nudged him.

He was about to let her know he was gonna go ahead and give Robin a break when another guy stepped out dressed in a move up to date Daredevil suit. Mike stood up fully and put away his bo staff while the other Daredevil eyed them, or so he assumed since he couldn't see the top half of the guys face. The two stared at each other for a long while and Blossom rose a brow hoping an altercation wasn't about to go down. The new Daredevil nodded his head at Mike in a way that said "move on", Mike looked back at Blossom and she shrugged knowing she could handle herself while her eyes pointed him to areas her sisters were so he knew she had backup if needed. Mike turned to the other guy and nodded before moving past, glancing back a few times.

Blossom watched the new Daredevil check back and wait until Mike was gone before moving in on her like a predator.

"Hey look, guy, I've seriously had enough of the whole mysterious act, if you wanna dance just say so," she crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall.

He boxed her in and smirked down at her, "And here I thought I'd get to be all smooth and mysterious for you, guess I took too long," Blossom's eyes widened up at the familiar voice, "Glad I'm here now though," he pulled her from the wall and wrapped around her firmly so she stayed pressed against him, "because you, my beautiful poison flower, are not allowed to leave my side looking the way you do,"

Blossom smirked and let her hands settle around his neck, "Is this you admitting defeat, Brick?"

He chuckled softly and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I'll just say it was some potion you mixed up to make me do what you want,"

She laughed while they started to sway to the music, "Ah yes, I used agrokinesis to persuade you into admitting that there was no way you'd be able to top this costume and that I am the greatest of all time,"

"Whoa, whoa there, now that's taking it a bit far,"

She pulled back and took a few steps back, "Oh well maybe my powers aren't working on you, guess I'll go find some gullible Batman to hypnotize instead,"

He narrowed his eyes and pulled her in again, "You tryna get one of these dopes hurt, Bloss?"

She smiled softly, "Of course not," she arched a brow at him, "I thought you like jokes?"

He sighed and relaxed, "You are not a joke to me, Blossom. I don't want anybody else messing with you," she hummed and traced the hard lines of his suit, "You're lucky we have x-ray vision or Mikey boy would've been toast," she giggled and pressed her face against his suit, "Why are you hiding down there," he smirked and lifted her chin.

She shook her head causing a few tendrils to fall against her cheeks, "I'm not hiding, I'm just amused by how overprotective you're being," she bit her lip and curled the hair back behind her ear, "It's cute,"

She could feel the eyeroll as a smirked crossed his mouth, "You're cute," he cupped her cheek and was about to lean in but was stopped by a soft hand at his lips.

She arched a brow at him, "Mask off," He wasted no time swiping the mask over his head and clipping it to his side, his hair falling in a mess around his shoulders; Brick didn't waste anytime swallowing her laughter as he planted his lips over hers.

Bubbles giggled as she passed by the red pair as she was currently being chased down by her beau dressed as Blue Beetle. Bubbles had made it a personal feat to not use her powers and had blended pretty well with the crowd using her Bronx accent but not long after leaving the dancefloor she stopped in her tracks face to face with Boomer, his mask was down but she knew without a doubt it was him; she could sense the smirk as his stance relaxed and his arms crossed his chest as he waited for her to come to him, she had smirked and arched a brow at him.

Holding her bat out to him in a pointing manner she propped a hand on her hip and taunted him, "Aright Bug Boy, you're cute and all but I'm not sure if I'm ready to make the switch from bats and crazies to creepy crawlies."

He chuckled and shrugged before responding through the mask's microphone, "Aw come on Miss Quinn, give a guy a chance,"

She shook her head and tossed a smiley "bomb" at him, "Catch!" she laughed as he scrambled to grab hold of it before turning to take off, "Also! Catch _me_ if you can!"

And so began the race. She'd managed to find a group of other Harley's and explained her game to them, they rounded up a handful more and moved together in a mass so to confuse other people and allow Bubbles to hide within them. Just when she thought her plan was succeeding a tap on the shoulder snapped her around.

"Yeah, nice try Miss Quinn, but I'd know you anywhere," she smirked, "There's plenty of dopples," he pressed a button to open his mask so she could see hi face entirely, "but only one Bubbles,"

"Aright smooth talker, let's dance," She grabbed his hand and pulled him out to the floor.

They danced and talked, both complimenting the others costume. Boomer pointed out that Robin was there and her game with Mike with Bubbles agreeing they'd find them after and go something together.

Butch took pride in showing off in his green lantern suit, girls came at him left and right which help to cover his irritation with Brick and Blossom's new development. A slender form in a leather bodysuit passed by his entourage and he couldn't help but follow her with his eyes; she'd moved to the bar to get something to drink he assumed, excusing himself he moved in her direction easing up next to her.

"So pretty lady, what's your getup?"

Buttercup smirk with a slight chuckle as she turned to face her counterpart, " _Real_ slick Butchie Boy,"

"What the hell?!" She laughed at his startled expression, "Okay you and this whole girly streak of yours is starting to get weird, like you look hot or whatever, but this isn't your usual,"

She rose a brow at that and leaned on the bar to face him, "Not my problem if it makes you uncomfortable douche bag,"

Holding his gloved hands up in defense he quickly corrected himself, "All I'm saying is, is that it's kinda nice you can look soft when you're go to is so hardcore,"

"Hardcore, eh?"

He shrugged, "You hang pretty well with the guys," he nodded as the bartender passed over her drink, "They respect you y'know?"

She smirked and took a sip, "What's with you, huh?" she gestured between them, "What's with this? A civilish conversation between the two of _us_? Brick must really be under that thick skin of yours," she snickered as she watched his face screw up, "Hey, calm down I'm just messin' around,"

That sat in silence for a minute, Butch lost in thought and Buttercup sipping at her drink. The green Ruff looked out at the dancefloor to find Blossom, she of course was right there in the middle of it all wrapped up in his asshole brother. Butch knew why the pink Puff would've been so easily persuaded, none of his brothers nor himself were ugly and they each had their own unique aspects that kept them the main attraction of every female to come across them and sadly even some men. The green Ruff liked the redhead because she was soft, but not soft in Bubbles' way because she could be very intimidating when she needed to be, but the gracefulness that she had throughout her entire being was addicting and that brain of hers just made her even more enticing. He knew exactly why Brick swayed her so easily; Brick and Blossom were unlike their siblings where Boomer and Bubbles were the mediators and Butch and Buttercup were the muscle. The redheaded pair were a mixture of brains and brawn, where Brick could become a hell demon Blossom was an ice queen and those differences alone would keep them chasing each other.

"Why is it that you're so obsessed with her? I mean plenty of guys are but you're something else," the brunette had set her glass aside and was watching the pair Butch was staring at so intently.

Butch shrugged as he watched Blossom laugh, "Pinky's different, there's something crazy in her that I wanted to find and bring out,"

Buttercup snorted and turned to lean her back on the bar, "We're all a little crazy, you boys weren't there for a lot of it, but we've snapped plenty in our younger years,"

Butch smirked and leaned back with her, "We heard some pretty good stories, Bubblevicious was a good one," he smirked down at her, "and there was something about a blankie?"

She scoffed and socked his arm, "Watch yourself,"

He laughed and rubbed at his arm, "There's a different kind of crazy in Blossom, I know it," he ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "If my brother's not careful he'll be lucky enough to drag it out,"

Buttercup rolled her eyes at that, "You want our Leader Girl to snap? Yeah, there's definitely something wrong with you," a call for contestants for the costume contest blared over the intercom and the green Puff smiled a little, "Come on maniac, me and my sisters have some crushing to do,"

He smirked and floated a little, "In your dreams Cupcake,"

{Author's Note: I try not to do too many of these but HIIIIIIII GUYYYYSSS! Thank you so much for being patient and waiting for this trash to update XD I have written and re-written this chapter about thirteen times and I was finally just done with myself and decided to go with the flow or whatever came out. This chapter is not my best work but it did help to break my writer's block so future chapters were gonna try and get some stuff done. PM me suggestions on what you guys wanna see, any ideas you think would help move along the story (I'm looking to stop around 25ish chapters). I appreciate all the support; you guys are amazing and I'll see you in chapter 8 :P}


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